


Modern AU - Maven and Thomas

by awildqueen



Category: Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cal x Maven, M/M, Modern AU, Modern Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-06-30 17:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15756492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awildqueen/pseuds/awildqueen
Summary: Maven is a new guy in town. His family just moved after his father was accused of a crime. There are no proofs against the family. His father was considered innocent.  But Maven knows the truth. His mom might be the criminal one… But with this new town, comes a new life. Maven just wishes it can be a new beginning. So he decides to visit a local music store.  In there he finds a very interesting and sassy guy who apparently knows a lot about the Calore family.





	Modern AU - Maven and Thomas

“Okay, so being the new guy sucks. Even more when you are just a shy boy, walking in black around town. I try my best to stay in the shadows and don’t call much attention, but it’s really hard to do that in a small town, where everyone is already talking about you in every corner.

I can’t say I miss where I lived. It was so big and so loud that it was easy to get lost, literally and metaphorically. But this new town is not like that. It’s peaceful and that’s something I’m thankful for. A little bit of quietness around me would be great, even if my loud mind still follows me everywhere. At least I don’t have to worry about people knowing me in here. Just because almost everyone in my old town knew who I am, it doesn’t mean that in this small and silent city people will be aware of me my and my family. My family probably doesn’t mean much for these people around here. People will talk about me just because I’m a new guy, not because I carry the name ‘Calore’.

We arrived this morning and I ‘m already trying to spend most of my day away from my family. Not from Cal tho. It’s nice having him at home at least a little bit, but I can’t force myself to be around him when dad is right there, talking to my older brother like he is the only valuable person in that house while I’m just invisible. So whenever our father is at home, I just want to be far away from him. All of those years when I was a kid, trying to impress my dad and make he sees me at least once… Well, I grew up and got tired of this. My mom doesn’t help either. She is always around me, suffocating me, choosing things for me, like somehow I’m incapable of making decisions.

So I left our new house this morning to find a local music store that Cal said it’s nice. Of course my brother already know this town. He knows almost everywhere since he is always traveling with our father. However finding this music store is getting difficult, but that’s probably because I’m getting lost in my mind. Like I always do.

Suddenly I turn a corner and there it is, in the end of a dead-end street, an old and small music store. I walk fast to get in there, and when I go inside, I feel the heat right away. I take off my coat and start walking around the crooked shelves, thinking if every CD and vinyls are going to start falling, but they don’t. Everything stays still and quiet and the two other people in here act the same way. Still and quiet. I can get used to it.

I spent more time than I intended to in the store, but I can’t help myself. Time flies whenever I’m around music or books. So I explore every CD tracklist and every vinyl cover, thinking why that certain band chose that name for the album and which covers are the most interesting ones. I also find a gramophone in a hidden place and I start putting vinyl after vinyl in it, listening to every melody and getting lost in it.

“You have a very distinct musical taste”, someone says behind me.

I turn around to see who said that and I get paralyzed. The boy behind me is one of the most handsome guys I have ever seen and his eyes are so warm that, for a few seconds, I forget I’m not at home. Well, if I actually had a nice home I would want it to make me feel just like how I am right now, when I am looking into his eyes.

“Yeah, I do”, I answer in the most dumb way possible. I turn around again even tho I still want to look at him.

“You are Maven, right?”, he asks. “One of the Calore brothers.”

So I was wrong. Some people do know my family in this town. Shit.

“That’s me”, I answer while looking at some vinyls. “How do you know that?”

He laughs and I get this weird sensation in my stomach. I also can’t deny the fact that his laugh makes me feel happy. I can’t stop myself from smiling. Why am I acting like this? I try to put this confusion in the farthest place of my mind. I’m glad he can’t see that I’m having a little crisis.

“Well, I’m your new neighbor. Haven’t you seen me?”, he asks. I hear something in his voice but I can’t identify what it is. “Usually everybody notices me right away.”

I can’t decide if he is being sarcastic or if he is just cocky, but I’m curious enough to try to find out so I decide to keep answering him.

“Well I haven’t seen you because you know, I’m not like everybody”, a little smile appears in my face while I say this.

I feel him getting a little bit closer, while he is searching for something in one of the shelves. I’m also pretty aware of the fact that his perfume is all around me. I just try to keep myself interested in the CDs and vinyls.

“Oh I know you are not like everybody. And I like that”, I can hear a smile in his talk. “But I do remember your brother and how he said the same thing for me once.”

I turn around faster than I wish I did.

“Do you know my brother?”

He just looks at me and it seems like he is having fun. He gets a vinyl from one of the shelves and starts analysing it. He keeps his smile on, like he somehow knew what it made me feel.

“Oh I do know your brother. And I know a few things about your family, Maven.” He looks at me and I can see he is being serious. “I feel like you guys should be aware that just because this is a small town, it doesn’t mean no one knows who you guys are and what your father did.”

I keep looking at him and I need to stop myself before I open my mouth in disbelief. “This guy can’t be serious”. Here I was, thinking that this nice looking guy was flirting with me, but no, he was just trying to make me feel… Scared?

“Why are you telling me this?”, I ask in a cold tone. “Did you came to me just to threaten me and my family?”

He smiles.

“No, I would never do that. Even more to a pretty face like you”, he turns away and starts looking to a old guitar that is hanging in the wall. “I just came here to let you know that this city can be dangerous too.”

I just keep staring at him for some seconds. What does he mean by “dangerous”? Does people in this city really know who my family is? And if they do, I can’t believe they know about what my father did. Actually, what my mom forced him to do. Do they know who my mom truly is? “No, stop with that, Maven. No one truly knows who your mother is. Just you. You are the one carrying this burden and it’s better if things stay like this.”

“So you came here just to warn me?”, I can’t control the amount of sarcasm in my voice. “Well, if that was your message for me, then I got it. You can go now.”

I pass close to him, and start walking towards the cashier. I want to leave this store as fast as I can. The fact that this boy probably knows my family’s secret makes me nervous and I can’t risk talking to him anymore. I don’t even ask him how he knows Cal. I just want to get away from his questions and warnings. But at the same time, as far as I get from him, I start feeling colder and colder. And I already miss his voice. What is so wrong with me? I must be really needy.

I get to the cashier and I see that the guy followed me. I look at him and raise my eyebrows.

“What now?”, I ask a little bit shaky. “Are you gonna follow me and protect me from all of the assassins and dragons in this city?”

He smiles and then laughs, making me melt a little bit.

“Assassins and dragons? Gosh, you must be a fantasy writer or something. Or just really into RPG”, his eyes get brighter and this doesn’t help me concentrate. “But well, I can protect you from those things if you want to.”

I can’t stop a smile from appearing in my face. I also can’t look away from his eyes. I feel trapped but I really don’t want to escape.

“I don’t need you to protect me”, I say while I’m blushing. “And as far as I know you can be an assassin. So I don’t trust you.”

He smiles even more and shrugs.

“Well, sometimes you just got to risk a little bit, right?”, he winks at me. “And I’m telling you: if I were you, I would take a risk for me. I’m worth a little bit of jeopardy.”

Something inside my mind tells me to go all the way and start flirting back. But as always a voice starts whispering inside my head and suddenly I feel the urge to end this conversation. I turn around.

“I just don’t like people following me”, I say in the coldest way I can, but my voice cracks a little bit.

I feel he is still smiling, but I don’t look back to check.

“Oh you can relax about that.” He says in a serious way, but I feel like he is messing with me. “I just need to pay for these vinyls and there is only one cashier.”

I roll my eyes, but I decide to stay quiet. I start thinking about how this guy knows Cal. I know my brother was in this town before, but he never said anything about making friends or actually talking to too many people. He was in here for just two days last year and that was it. He told me he spent most of the time in his motel room and haven’t talked to anyone in particular, just with our father, of course. So how does this guy knows Cal?

“That’s why I’m behind you now.” He suddenly says, making me a little bit jumpy. “I’m gonna pay for these vinyls because you know, I’m a decent citizen and not a thief. And then guess what? You are in the only cashier line in the store. So no, I’m not following you or anything, although you are cute enough for me…”

“Okay, I get it.” I say as fast as I can.

He laughs.

“I’m joking with you.” His voice sounds inviting and warm. I just wish I could listen to it all day. “Not kidding about you being cute tho.”

I take a deep breath. As much as I want to flirt back, I can’t forget how he talked about my family. Those secrets are serious and if this town really knows them, my family and I will need to move again. And I can’t handle things changing again.

I get to the cashier and pay for some vinyls I got. I choose some for Cal too. When he is at home, we like to spend some time together, listening to some music and screaming the lyrics with full power, while laying in bed, side by side. Sometimes we make competitions of who remembers most of the lyrics. Cal always loses but never admits it. I wish we could do more of that, but his travels with our father are getting more and more intense.

When I’m almost leaving, the random guy just sighs and look at me.

“You weren’t even going to say goodbye, were you?” He pretends he is disappointed. “How are we gonna have a friendship if you act like this?”

I just stare at him. I try to tell myself I’m doing that just because I can’t believe he is so petulant, but I can’t deny that, while I stare at him, I’m trying to memorize his face. His eyes. His warmful brown eyes.

“I don’t become friends with potential assassins”, I say, smiling. “Or potential dragons.”

He smiles and gets closer to me. I take a little step back.

“Don’t worry, I’m just getting to the door now.” He gesticulate, opening the door. “You see, to leave the store and go home.”

I roll my eyes again and go through the door he was keeping open for me and finally get outside of that music store. Not that I didn’t like the store. I actually liked it a lot. But I was feeling kinda dizzy and hot in there. If I think too much about it, well, it wasn’t probably the store that was making me feel like this.

He closes the door behind us and I feel the cold weather. It’s starting to snow and I’m glad I brought my coat. But before the snow gets worse, I decide to go home.

I look at him for probably the last time and I notice he is looking at me too. He smiles and I turn my face away.

“Well, I need to go.” I say while looking to the sky. “But before I leave… I just don’t remember your name.”

He looks at me intensely and I wonder what he is thinking about. I know I shouldn’t have asked his name but I couldn’t control myself.

“You probably don’t remember because I haven’t said it”, his smile gets bigger and he starts to walk away from me.

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. And I can’t believe after flirting with me for the past minutes, he just decides to walk away without telling me his name.

“C’mon!” I say louder than I intended to. “You can’t just pretend you don’t want me to know your name. You are just too cocky for that.”

He stops and turn around to look at me. And then he laughs. I feel that weird sensation in my stomach again.

“I’m Thomas”, he says and I swear his smile could make the whole world brighter. “And please, let me know if you ever need to be saved from an assassin or a dragon. Actually from anything at all.”

I laugh.

“Oh are you that brave?”

His smile gets a little bit smaller and he observes me with an intense and serious look. In that moment I can see some sadness in him. I wonder what makes him sad.

“No, it’s because I just really want to see your face again”, he says gently.

He walks away before I even get the chance to say anything. I stay there, in that dead-end street, holding some vinyls in my hand and asking myself why I was already missing Thomas’s eyes so much.


End file.
